Vols, Miners far apart historically
KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee’s football opponent this week is coming from 1,500 miles away, both literally and figuratively.
The University of Texas at El Paso will bring the thirdworst all-time record among Football Bowl Subdivision teams with at least 50 years of football played to Neyland Stadium today for a noon showdown with Tennessee.
The Volunteers, meanwhile, own the nation’s 12th-best alltime record.
But as Tennessee (1-1) and its Conference USA foe prepare to square off, Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt sees similarities between the programs.
“Just watching them, they remind me a lot of ourselves,” Pruitt said. “When they do things the right way, they have lots of success. When they don’t, they haven’t, which is very similar to us. Probably two programs that are kind of going in a similar direction right now, and both of us are looking to play at our best.”
Both teams are in their first seasons under new coaches after dismal 2017 campaigns.
UTEP (0-2) played its season opener in front of 17,271 home fans and had 14,122 in attendance for its game at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas last week.
Saturday’s crowd could surpass 90,000, but the environment will be familiar to at least one member of the Miners’ program.
Offensive coordinator Mike Canales joined Dana Dimel’s firstyear staff at UTEP in December after spending the 2017 season as quarterbacks coach for Tennessee. The Vols stumbled to a 4-8 record in Butch Jones’ fifth and final season as coach, but Canales made a name for himself on the recruiting trail.
Canales helped the Vols earn commitments from a pair of quarterbacks in the 2018 class. One of them, Adrian Martinez, wound up signing with Nebraska after Tennessee’s coaching transition and became the first true freshman quarterback in Cornhuskers history to start a season opener.
“It’s going to be pretty surreal and it’s going to touch my heart, because I just have so
much love for those kids,” Canales said of his return to the field where he proposed to his wife last season. “I felt like my time there, although it was almost a year, I gave everything I had. I took that meaning to heart, ‘I’ll give my all for Tennessee.’”
With the Miners, Canales is coaching the player who leads UTEP in passing and rushing. Junior quarterback Kai Locksley is in his first season at UTEP following a circuitous journey through junior college with which Pruitt is familiar.
Pruitt and Kai Locksley’s father, Mike Locksley, coached together at Alabama in 2016 and 2017. Mike Locksley is now the Crimson Tide offensive coordinator.
“I love their family and think Mike is a tremendous coach and a good friend,” Pruitt said. “Kai can run, and they’ve had a little bit of a problem with protection, just like us. He’s a guy that can get away from it, he can extend plays and has a good arm. He’s their leading rusher and passer, so everything starts with him.”
Tennessee hopes its similarities with UTEP are not evident on the field. The Vols are favored by 31 points and would prefer a painless win this week with Florida up next.
The Gators’ staff includes tight ends coach Larry Scott, who was Tennessee’s offensive coordinator in 2017 and is a longtime friend of Canales.
Canales said he is sure he’ll get a call from Scott next week as the Gators are scouting for their trip to Tennessee just a week after UTEP’s trip. But Canales said he wishes the Vols “all the best luck.”
“I want Tennessee to be successful in all they do,” he said, “except for this Saturday.”
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com.